William g



(No Model.)

W. G. MINK an E. N. ALLING.

LANTERN.

' the object hereinafter descfibed.

UNITED STATES PATENT GEEICE.

WILLIAM e. 1l/IINK AND EUGENEN. ALLING, or EATH-oN-THE-Eunson, Iv. Y.,

LANTERN.

SPECIFICATION formingI part of Letters Patent No. 264,956, dated September 26,' 188?.

l Application filed March 13, 18782. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, WILLIAM G.

ot' New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lanterns, of which and Fig. 3 a hdrizontal section at the line y y,

Our invention relates to improvements in lanterns; and it consists in constructing each` lantern in such manner that it will contain at the saine time two glasses of different colors,-

'one ot' said glasses being adapted to slide telescopically overthe other, as hereinafter described; and it Valso consists in constructing the casing ofthe lantern in such Inanner thatl the lighting of the lamp therein may be effected without removing said lamp from the lantern and while the latter is exposed to strong currents ot` wind.

The object of our improvements is to combine in one device a safety77 and a danger7 signal for railway purposes, or for any purpose where signals are made by means of lanterns of dierent colors; and this object we attain by means of the construction herein shown and described.

As illustrated' in the drawings, the metallic casing of the lantern is composed of the upper section, A, and lower section, A', that are connected together by means of the guard-wires a. The upper section, A, is provided with a cover, a', which we preferably hinge thereto, and provide it with a catch, a2, for securing it in" a closed position; but when preferred the said cover may be made removable to effect The lower section, A', is provided with an inside detachable cylinder, A2, and the two are secured together by means ot' the interlocking slots a3 andpins a4, to which additional security may be given `by means of the catch a5, a spring, or

any other suitable fastening device that will engage with the pin ai* to prevent the parts from unlocking. The inner cylinder, A2, is

MrNK and EUGENE N. ALLING, both of Bath-on-the-l Hudson, in the county of Rensselaer and Statel provided at its upper end with an inwardlyprojecting annular ange, a, that serves as a seat for holding the inside glass cylinder, B, and the latter extends upward inside of the upper section, A, and near to the top thereof, and the upper end of said cylinder is held by the annular flange al, secured to the inner side of the upper section, A. The cylinder B is usually made of clear or nncolored glass, so as to show a clear light from the lamp inside of the lantern, and the said cylinder is so secured in place by the iianges a and a7 that the lantern may be swung around in a vertical plane without danger of displacing the said cylinder.

Surrounding the cylinder B there is another cylinder, (l, made of any desired tint of colored glass or other suitable transparent material. rlhe said outer cylinder, C, is about one'half of the height ot' the cylinder B, and ot' sufficient diameter to pass freely over the latter, and it is adapted to Slide upward into au annular chamber formed betweenthe upper portion of the cylinder B and upper section, A, of the metallic casing. The said outer cylinder, C, is carried-in a stirrup, D, formed of a strip ot' metal bent at its middle to receive the lower edge of the cylinder U, and so that the two parts will extend upwardly-one on the out side and the other on the inside of said cylinderwith their ends extending above the upper edge of said cylinder C, adapted to receive a handle or knob, d, which is screwed thereinto,so as to bind the two upper ends of said stirrup together. Said knob projects outward through a vertical slot, a, formed in the upper section of the casing, and `by means of said knob the cylinder C can he moved from the outside of the lantern to slide telescopically over the cylinder B. The spring-catches E and E', secured to the casing at one side of the slot a8, constitute fastening devices for engaging with the k'nob l to hold the outer 'cylinder, C, either in its raised or lowered position, so securely that the said cylinder cannot be displaced when the lantern is violently swung around for the purpose of signaling. By making the cover a removable, or so as to swing on a hinge, access can be obtained to the interior of the lantern for the purpose of lighting the lamp F while the lantern is ex- ICO posed to a high wind, and for the purpose of cleaning the cylinder B on its inner side with out taking the lantern apart.

Our lantern is provided with a swinging bail, G, (shown as broken in Fig. 1,) made in the usual bowed form, and attached to the casing by the eyes g.

While the outer cylinder, C, is drawn up to its highest position, as shown in Figs. l and 2, the lantern will show a clear uncolored light from the lamp inside, and it can then be used as a safety signal 5 but when occasion requires the upper spring-catch, E, can be thrown back from under the knob d to release the cyliuder C, and the said cylinder may then be moved downward until the knob d engages underneath the lower spring-catch, E', whereby the outer cylinder, C, will be locked in position to inclose that portion ofthe cylinder B that is used for the transmission of light, and under suoli conditions the lantern will show a distinct and well-defined colored light that is not mixed with any other tint or color to produce confusionor doubt in the mind of' anchserver, and it may then be used as a dangersignal.

By removing the inner cylinder, A2, of the casing andthe knob d from the stirrup the glass cylinders B and U may be drawn out irom the casing ofthe lantern whenever such an act may be required.

The upper portion of the cylinder B, or that part of it that is inclosed in the upper section, A, ofthe casing, may be blackened or kotherwise deadened to the transmission ot' light, or, when preferred, the said upper portion of the cylinder B may be dispensed with, and a light metallic cylinder ot' an equal length may be substituted therefor, suitable provision heilig made at the lower end of the substituted cylinder for holding the upper end ot' the shortcned glass cylinder, and by this modication of the construction a meterial reduction in the weight of the lantern may be effected without affecting in the least its ope-ration.

lhe upper and lower sections of the casing are provided with the usual openings for the ingression and egression ot' air required to support combustion within the lantern, and the lamp F is fastened in the casing ot the lantern by the usual and well-known means.

It is obvious that our inventionis not limited to a lantern having acyliudrical form, and that it can be readily adapted without further invention to any form of lantern wherein one i fixed position in the casing of said lantern so as to form an annular chamber betweenthe upper end of said cylinder B and the upper section, A, of the casing, and a colored transparent outer cylinder, C, adapted to slide telescopically upward into the aforesaid annular chamber, as herein set forth, of the springcatches E andE, adapted to engage with the knob d for the purpose of securing the cylinder O at each extremity of the movement of said cylinder, the whole being so constructed and arranged to operate that a light of only one color can be emitted from the lantern at any one time, as herein specified.

2. In a'lantern whose casing is composed ot an upper section, A, provided with au annular flange, a7, as herein described, a lower section, A', connected to said upper section by means ot' guard-wires` a., and a detachable inner cyl'- inder, A2, provided with the annular `flange a and secured to the lower section, A', as herein set forth, the combination, with a transparent cylinder, B, held in fixed position by the danges a andra", ot' the sliding transparent colored cylinder C, carried in the stirrup D, provided with a knob, cl, and the springcatches E and E', all ot said parts being vconstructed and adapted' to operate as herein specified.

'WILLIAM e. MINK.

EUGENE N. ALLiNo.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM H. Low,- C. J. MATTrsoN. 

